Week 8 EOC: The Adventure

Dear Friends,

In my most recent adventure to Panama, I came across a delicacy that just had to be shared with the rest of the world!  Platanos or plantains, are a green banana shaped fruit.  It is also a member of the banana family.  This fruit can be cooked and served in a number of dishes, including desserts!  The most popular way to prepare and serve this fruit is by slicing, seasoning, and frying into chips.

How did I find this delicious fruit?  Well, that’s where the adventure comes into play.  I decided to go zip lining along the top of the jungle canopy, as a way to see the deepest parts of the rain forest.  On a particularly long run, I felt some jerkiness in my harness.  Upon reaching the end of the line, I discovered that some of my equipment was malfunctioning.  I climbed down and began walking from there.

I came across a small village in a beautiful clearing.  Luckily, I speak enough spanish to get by and began conversing with the locals.  I happened to come along right as they were preparing lunch, and they invited me to stay for the meal.  There were empanadas, pasteles, arroz con pollo, and tortillas with varying ingredients.  While everything was delicious, my favorite was the fried platanos!  They had a dessert version that was prepared with vanilla, cinnamon, and brown sugar.  I preferred the sliced, fried chips seasoned with salt.

Upon my return from Panama, I immediately began marketing and production of this new wonderful snack!  Panama Plantains are currently being packaged and will hit stores on New Years Day!  Be prepared for an explosion of the senses!

Sincerely,

Phileas Fogg

Week 5 EOC: Understanding Consumer and Business Buyer Behavior

The definition of Buying Behavior, according to Superprofesseur.com, “is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products.”  The four major factors that influence a consumer’s buyer behavior are cultural, social personal, and psychological.  Consumers develop product and brand preferences based on these factors.

“An individual and a consumer is led by his culture, his sub-culture, his social class, his membership groups, his family, his personality, his psychological factors, etc. And is influenced by cultural trends as well as his social and societal environment” – Fanny Perrau for theconsumerfactor.com.

A consumer will go through a decision process when purchasing a product.  This five-stage process consists of problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post purchase decision.

The adoption process and the diffusion process are heavily relied upon when it comes to the growth rate and total sales level of new products.  “The rate (speed) of adoption depends on consumer traits, the product, and the firm’s marketing effort.” – studymarketing.org.  The diffusion process recounts the procedure in which different members of the target market often accept and purchase a product.

Business markets are marketplaces where organizations purchase products for resale, or for use in manufacturing another product.  Now that we have looked at what influences us as individuals, business buyer behavior will be described.  The stages of the business buying process are problem recognition, general need description, product specification, supplier search, proposal solicitation, supplier selection, order-routine specification, and performance review.

Week 3 EOC: My Demographics

As Hispanic markets expand in the U.S., companies are increasing their consumer research into the demographic mix.  The Latino community makes up about 16% our country’s population.

"They love beer," says Jim Sabia, chief marketing officer for Crown Imports, which distributes Mexican beers including Corona and Modelo. "Hispanics are 19 percent more likely to purchase beer than the rest of U.S. consumers." On top of that, Hispanics will make up a large portion of the legal drinking-age population in the future (NPR.org).

In the Latino market, Bud Light is the #1 beer of choice and Corona comes in second, according to NPR.org.  Anheuser-Busch has begun catering towards the Latino market by pairing up with hip-hop star Pitbull.  “Hoping to add some bite to its multicultural advertising, Bud Light is unleashing hip hop star Pitbull in a new TV campaign aimed at tapping into the Cuban-American's rising stardom and crossover appeal” (Advertising Age).  The campaign, operated by Bud Light Hispanic agency, will run ads on major U.S. broadcast networks, as well as Hispanic TV.

Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

Burt’s Bees isn’t just another pretty face in the world of bath and beauty products.  The company started in 1984 with the production of beeswax candles, and evolved into the lip balm company that we know and love today.  “Burt’s Bees has stayed true to a very simple idea: what you put on your body should be made from the best nature has to offer” (Burt’s Bees).

Their philosophy states that they look after their own.  “So when we look after our own, we mean everybody: our employees, our customers, our families, ourselves. And yes, our environment, too. Our ingredients—right down to the packaging—are simple, natural, and responsible. We practice what we preach—and we hope to set the example for others to follow.  It's called The Greater Good.  And it's how we're going to help change the world” (Burt’s Bees).

Not only does the company make natural, environmentally safe products, they also give back.  In 2007, Burt’s Bees established The Greater Good Foundation, a non-profit organization designed to further their mission of responsible environmental stewardship.  The foundation has raised over $1.2 million, and even donates to other non-profit charitable organizations.  In 2012 alone, $233,000 in proceeds were donated to 23 organizations, including groups like Habitat for Humanity and The Pollinator Project.

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

“The video game industry has come under increasing fire for fostering sedentary and asocial lifestyles among youth.  In response, Nintendo, the video game company, created the Wii Fit, which addresses public skepticism about the social value of video games by promoting exercise and personal fitness” (Boston Consulting Group).

While Nintendo was the forerunner with the creation of Wii Fit, there are numerous games similar to this on the market today.  The top 10 fitness video games are listed on CBS News.  Wii Fit Plus takes the lead at number 1.  According to CBS News, “Wii Fit includes more than 40 types of training activities designed to appeal to anyone from casual gamers to hardcore fitness buffs.  The “Plus” version has several new features, including new strength-training exercises, yoga activities and more balance mini-games."

Other games geared towards getting users into shape on the top ten list include; Your Shape for Xbox 360 Kinect, Active 2 for Wii, Dance Central for Xbox 360 Kinect, The Biggest Loser for Wii and Xbox 360 Kinect, Kinect Sports for Xbox 360, NFL Training Camp for Wii, Sports Champion for PS3, and my personal favorite, Zumba Fitness for PS3.

According to an article published by The Wall Street Journal 5 years ago, video game makers were losing sales.  From January to June of 2009, sales were normal, then plummeted 30 to 40 percent.  “The reversal of fortune is likely to show up further in coming weeks. When Nintendo reports earnings Thursday, some analysts expect to see weaker revenue on a decline in Wii sales and slower-than expected software sales. Videogame retailer GameStop Corp., which reports earnings next month, is also projected to post less-robust results” (The wall Street Journal).

That issue was obviously fixed, for there are new games being developed and sold every day.  The creation of the new video-assisted exercise games may or may not have helped to increase revenue, but I’m thinking it must have due to the amount of games such as this on the market today.

Week 1 EOC: Great customer Service

This is a bit of a tough one!  More often than not, we only remember our negative customer service experiences.  Being a lover a fashion, I’m always on the lookout for good deals on hot brands.  I admit to having champagne taste on a beer budget.  And while I would very much enjoy shopping at Sak’s Fifth Avenue or similar department stores, my wallet just doesn’t allow this.

I decided to stop at Sak’s off 5^th at the south outlets one afternoon to search for a gown for a friend’s wedding.  The associates were all very kind and went out of their way to help me.  I definitely made them earn their paychecks that day with numerous trips to and from the dressing room with different styles, sizes, etc.  They did this for me with a smile on their faces, and were professional, respectful, and courteous the entire time.

As I was searching through the racks of dresses, a beautiful deep royal blue gown with a train caught my attention.  The first thing that I noticed was the designer’s name.  The gown was a Vera Wang!  It was the only one in the store…but luckily it was my size!  I became excited and heartbroken at the same time.  There was no way that I would be able to afford an original Vera Wang design.  But then I saw the price tag, and I was in Valhalla!  The original price of $750.00 was marked down to $75.00.  After confirming that this wasn’t a typo, that baby was mine, and I felt like a million bucks at my friend’s black tie wedding!